Feeding mechanism



Dec. 25, 1928; 1,696,549

' M. J. MAGUTH FEEDING MECHANISM Filed July 23, l925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 +1 3/ I. ,ZW- I 2 -%lNENTO R WJL ATTORNEY Dec. 25, 1928.

M. ,1. MAGUTH mum" mmrsm Filed July 23, 1925 4 'Sheqts-Sheet 2 l VENTOR A ORNEY i M. J. MAG UTH FEEDING MECHANISM Filed July 25, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 r VENTOIZZ Dec.'25;1 1928.-, 1,696,549

M. J. MAGUTH FEEDING MECHANISM Filed July 25, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I guideways.

Patented Dec. 25, 19 28.

UNITED STATES,

1,696,54 PATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL J. MAGUTH, F GARLSTADT, NEW JERSEY.

V FEEDING MECHANISM.

Application filed July 23,1925, Serial No. 45,485, and in Great Britain March 28, 192.

The present invention relates generally to improvements in feeding mechanisms and is more especially directed to mechanisms for.

feeding articles, such as hooks and eyes, to be fastened on tape or other flexible strip material, although my invention is not limited to operation in conjunction with the articles named, its use's being varied as will be apparent from the following specification.

For the purpose of affording a clear understanding of the invention, I shall describe a certain embodiment thereof, which is designed for feeding garment hooks formed c from wire or stamped from sheet metal, into 15 position to be affixed, by eyelets or other devices, to a, tape or strip of woven material or the like. v

In the accompa ying drawings in which the aforesaid emb diment is illustrated,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the hopper and cooperating elements of my improved feeding mechanism.

'Figure2 is a rear elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1 I Figure 3 is aside elevation of the mechanism shown in Figures' l and 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

- I Figure 5 s an enlarged sectionaldet'ail,

taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1, to

show the hook ejecting means.

Figure6 is a bottom plan view ofa seg? ment of the hopper, vshowing the article 'i Figure 7 is an elevation, partly-in section, on the lin-e 77 of Figure 6.

' Figure S is a section on the line' 8-.-8 of Figure 6. v I

Figure 9 is a plan view of oneof the yield-v 40 able article' engaging elements of the ho per.-

Figure 10 is an enlarged detail 0 the agitator actuating levers, and I Fi re '11 is a transverse section on the line 11-11 of Figure. 3.

Referring now to-the in which like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts, in the'several views,"12 indicates thevwall of the hopper which is annular in'shape, and 13 the base 50 to which the'wall is fixed by means of the Screws 14. Centrally located on the rear face of the base 13 is a protuberance or boss 15.

which is bored as clearlyshown in Figure 4 to form a bearing for the .shaft,16, the said 55 protuberance or boss 15 functioning asa stub A bevel gear 39 is keyed to the'other end of r the shaft 30 in mesh with a bevel gear 40 drawings in detail,

13 by screws 4 shaft or hub for the hopper. This shaft or hub 15 is revoluble within the bearing 17 formed integral with or rigidly fixed to the arms 18, 19 and 20 of the bed-plate 21, which is suitably supported from the standards 22 and 3, as by the cross-member 24 and the brackets 25 and 26 carried thereon. The brackets 25 and 26 are adapted to be bolted to the extensions 21*and 21 of the bed-plate as shown at 27,. relative adjustment being [permitted by the provision of the slots 25 and 26 in said brackets.

Journaled in the bearings 28 and 29 is a shaft 30, adapted to be driven through the medium of the belt 31 traveling on the pulley 32, when the clutch members 33 and 34 are engaged by the actuation of the lever 35. Any suitable'clutch mechanism may be used, that in the present showing embodying a grooved collar 36 slidable longitudinally of the shaft, within which the upper end of the lever 35-rides. As the lever is rocked in one direction on the its pivot 35, the clutch members 33 and 34 are yieldingly engagedby the action of the spring 37, the movement of the lever 35 in the reverse direction obviously effecting the disengagement of said members. A stop 38, fixed to the end of the'shaft 30 limits outward movement of the collar 36.

fixed to the vertically disposed-shaft 41, journaled in the bearings 42 and. 43, the latter bearing being integral with the arm 20.

Keyed to the shaft 41, intermediate of its. ends,- is a driving cam-'44 of the so-called 'screw t "pe, having active and inactive surfaces, t e former of-which are laid out to at all times engage two of the projecting pins 'orstuds 45 fixed to the ring 46, which is fas- 96 .tened to the base 13 of the hopper so as to rotatesaid hopper with an intermittent or stepby-step movement, when the aforesaid clutch members 33 and 34 are in engagement. Thesaid ring 46 is referably fastened to the base i' in engagement with the dependent flange 13 thereof which surrounds the extruded portion formed by the provision of the depression 13 in ,the oenter'ofv the inner face of the base.

Abutting upon the face of the aforesaid depression 13 is a hubv 48 pinned, onkeyed, to the shaft 16, which supports a segmental member 49, preferably of the configuration shown, carryinga plurality of flexible fingers 110 L v I V 50, the said member being oscillated or rocked within the hopper as the latter rotates, for the purposes hereinafter described. This rocking movement of the member 49, which 5 may be termed an agitator, is obtained through the medium of the levers 51 and 52 and the link 53, the lever 51 being pinned to the shaft 16 while the lever 52, which is mounted torotate with the shaft-41, is connected to the ofiset end 51 of the lever 51 by the link 53. From this arrangement, it will be seen that as the short lever 52 revolves with the shaft 41, the link 53 will be reciprocated to rock the lever 51 and with it the shaft 16 (see Figure 10).

I The wall 12 of'the hopper, which may be formed of any suitable material, preferably brass, is provided with equi-distantly spaced bores or openings, as indicated at 54. As

0 these bores which are provided throughout the circumferential area of the wall, are identical in plan and function. but one of them, as shown in Figure 8, will be described. The bore, which is cylindrical, extends from the top of the wall of the hopper to a point adjacent the lower edge thereof, where the diameter is reduced as at 55 by the formation of a shoulder 56. l ositioned in the bore is a tubular member 57 having a base 57 provided with a central orifice 57 to form a bearing for the pin 58, the head of which normally abuts upon said base 57 under the influence of the spring 59 which is confined within said tubular member, between the head of said pin and the shoulder 60 of the bore,,is compressed and expands, as hereinafter described, a ring 62 perforated to re N ister with and pass over the protruding plugs so as to engage the upper ends of the respective tubular members 57 serving to retain them in functioning relation.

As will be seen from Figure 6, the bottom -of the hopper wall is provided with a plurality of angularly disposed equidistantly spaced shoulders 62, each of these shoulders havingan abutment 64 spaced inwardly of its respective edges, the inner ends of these abutments being rounded or curved as shown. The base 13 is adapted to lie in close contact with the abutments 64 when in" position as heretofore described and is fastened to certain of them by the screws 14 threaded .into the openings 14*.

It will be noted that the laterally spaced 1 shoulders 62 and the abutments 64 thereon,

provide a series of angularly disposed guideways having two levels, the. intermediate portion, lying betweenthe parallel edges of the shoulders 62being of greater depth than the portions on either side thereof formed by the abutments 64 and the top faces of the shoulders 62. The relative depths of the aforesaid stepped portions of the guideways are determined by the sizes of the work which is to be passed .therethrough. For instance,

in operating with garment hooks, as shown,

the intermediate channel 63 is of a.deptlr slightly greater than the thickness of the body of the hook and its overlying nib, while the depth of the shallow part of the guideway,

between the abutments 64 and the edges of the shoulders 62 which define the channel 63, is jpst suflicient to permit the relatively fiat head or eye-forming porti n of the hook to pass between the base 13 and the opposed spaced faces of the shoulders 62.

Fixed to the bed-plate 21, by means of screws or the like 68 is an arcuate member, or retainer, 66 which is recessed throughout its length, the inner edge thereof projecting within the undercut 65 of the lower peripheral edge of the hopper Wall 12. This recess, indicated at 67, is of the same depth as the shallow or head-receiving portions of the hopper guideways. As the hopper revolves,

as heretofore described; a plurality of the hopper guideways are in moving registration with the aforesaid recess, which, in efiect, constitutes ajcontinuation of the shallow part of each thereof, for the purposes which will become apparent.

Supported from the bed-plate 21 by the brackets 69 and in superposed relation to the hopper ring 62, is a segmental member 70, the under surface at each end thereof being bevelled or chamfered as indicated at 71 so that as the hopper rotates upon its axis, the ends of the plugs 60 will ride therermder to effect the depression of the tubular members 57 against the'tension of their springs 61 and simultaneously project the ends of the pins 58 through their respective bores 55 into the passage 63 Mounted on the bed-plate 21 and fastened thereto as by screws 72 is a chute 7 3, having a centrally disposed groove 'or guideway of two depths, as shown at7 4 in Figure 11, the upper end of said guidewaybeing open as at 75 for observation purposes, In order that the hooks may be delivered to the tape or other flexible medium in proper position to be fastened thereto, they must be fed to the chute 74 in a predetermined position, that is, head foremost, with the nib of the shank uppermost, the hooks traversing said chute one behind the other as shown in Figure 3.7

Now, assuming that a quantity of hooks is supplied to the hopper through the mouth to I the lowermost portion of the rotating III hopper, that within the zone of'the retaining member 66 where they will accumulate in a i either side of the channel 63 can only accom modate the relatively flat lateraleye-forming extensions of the head of the'hook, it will be obvious that a hook may, enter a hopper guideway only when the surface of "its nib is next to the inner face of the top of .the channel 63. As the ho per rotates, the agitation of the pile will e set the separation of individual hooks therefrom, those in prox iinity to the inner ends of the hopper guideways which are in position to enter the same dropping thereinto by gravity or under the influence of the flexible fingers of the agitator which have a wiping contact with ,the wall of the hopper, it being evident that some hooks will enter the guideways head first, while others will be received in the reverse position.

The movement of the hooks which enter the hopper guideways head first (the correct position to admit them to the-chute 73) will e arrested with their heads partly within the shallow portions of the guideways' and partly within the registering recess 67 of the member 66, the distance between the bore and the wall of the recess 67- being'slightly greater than the overall length of the hook (see Figure 6). The continued rotation of the hopper will bring the hopper guideways into sequential registration with the mouth of the chute 73, formed by the members 7 3 and 7 3 as they pass beyond the end of the retaining member 66, thus? permitting. the hooks to gravitate into the chute head foremost.

Where a Book has entered the hopper uideway in the other of. the two positions 1n which it may be received, that is, nib first, it cannot clear the bore 55 becztuse of the obstruction ofiered by the shallow recess 67 of the member 6.6, which the relatively thick ,nib portion of the hook cannot enter, but means must be provided to revent it enter- 73 as the guide- I ways pass beyond the end of said member.

,To accomplish this, the lower end of the aforesagl segmental member 70 is disposed in 'a positlon slightly in advance of the terminus ofthe retaining-member 66 (see Figure 1) to engage the plug of the tubular member 57 associated with that 'guideway which "is just clearing the end of said retaining mem ber, and depress the same against the tension .of the spring,61. Theend of the pin 58 is.

"thereby projected through thebore 55 and, vdue to he spring 59, yieldingl Y engages the vshank of the" hook'and holds it within the guidewa-yluntil the'spring 61 returns to its 73, the projection of the pin 58 through its roper time, as its shank will lie beyond the ore 55 owing to the head of the hook being.

opening 55 will not interfere with the eject-, ment ofkthe hook from the guideway ht the" disposed within the shallow recess 67 0f the retaining member, as before stated. A

Should an improperly located hook remain in a guideway after it has been released by the pin [58,1 have provided an ejecting -mechanis m having a finger 79 which is adapted to enter the respective hopper guideways as they come into alinement therewith. This finger 7 9 having an attaching end 7 9 is secured to the block 80 which is reciprocable within the ide 81 on the bed-plate 21, the

said block aving an arm or extension 82 protruding through a'slot 83 in said bedplate. Mounted on the shaft 30 is a step cam 84, the active surface of which is adapted to engage the -cam-follower orpin 85 car- 'ried by the lever 86. This lever is slotted as.

at 87 to reciprocate uponthe shaft 30, between the hub of said camand the collar 88 and is pivotally connected to said arm or extension 82at 89, a tension spring 90 being connected to the projectingp n 91 on-said arm or extension" and to a stud 92 on the bed-plate 21.

From this arrangement of the ejector. mechanism, it will be evident that as the cam 84 traverses thepin 85, the .block 80 will be. i

\ moved upwardly in its bearing to the position-shown in Figure 5, this being accom plished in synchronism with the, rotative movement of the hopper. Asithe hopper becomes stationary in its step-by-step moveoment, the blockSO inove's downwardly under the influence of the spring 90 which functions as the cam follower leaves the peak of said cam 84 In this manner, each guidewa as it comes" into alinement with,.tl1e finger 9 is penetrated and cleared.

In he event of a slowing. or stoppage "inthedelivery of the hooks from the outlet of the chute\73 which would result inv an overflow as the hopper continues to rotate and feed, I provide-a plate of the configuration shown at 93 in Figure 1 which is pivoted to the bed-plate 21 at 94, a spring 95 mounted on the stud 96 and in engagement with the v pin97, bearingagainst the arm 98 of said plate to holdthe nose 99 thereof'in a position [relative to the discharging guideway whereby the flange. 100 will serve to direct the overflow of hooks-to the receptacle 101 suitably ard 23. i l

f What is claimed is:

supported from the bed plate or the stand-,

1. A feedingmechaiiism embodying a hopper provided with spaced peripheral outlets for the articles contained therein, a chute cooperatively associated with said hopper,

means for intermittently rotating said hop-' per to sequentially bring said outlets to delivery position with relation to said chute whereby articles disposed in a predetermined position within said outlets will enter said chute, means actuatable for releasably retaining within said outlets those articles which are not in such predetermined delivery position, and mechanically actuated means timed to enter each of said outlets when said hopper is at rest to clear the same of obstruct-ions.

- lets and actuatable to rel'easably retain theretening devices to a machine for securing the in those hooks which are in one of said two predetermined positions, and means cooperatingwith said outlets to permit of the discharge therefrom of those hooks which are in the other of said two predetermined positions. i

3. A mechanism for feeding garment hooks to a machine for fastening the same on tape, comprising a hopper having spaced peripheral outlet's' formed to receive said hooks in either of two predetermined positions, a chute associated therewith, means for agitating the hooks in said hopper whereby they will enter said outlets by gravity, means cooperatively associated with said hopper outlets to retain therein the hooks which are in one of said predetermined positionsand'to permit their discharge into said chute, and means actuatable for releasably retaining within said outlet-s those hooks which are not in correct position for discharge therefrom. at. A mechanism for feeding garment fassame to a fabric, comprising a hopper provided with circumferentially equidistantly spaced outlets for the fastening devices con-- tained therein, a chute cooperatively asso-v ciated with said hopper and adapted to transport the devices only in a predetermined position, means embodied within said outlets forpermitting the fastening devices contained within said hopper to enter the same by gravity in either of two predetermined positions, means for intermittently rotating said hopper, means for permitting the discharge from said outlets into saidchute of those fastening devices contained therein in one of said predetermined positions, meansactuatable for releasably retaining within said outlets the fastening devices disposed therein in the other of said predetermined poany fastening devices which may remain therein following their release by said retaining means.

5. A mechanism for feeding garment hooks I to a machine for fastening the same on fabrics, comprising a hopper, means for intermittently rotating said hopper, circumferentiallydisposed outlets. at the base of the wall of said hopper for the hooks contained therein, each of said outlets being shaped to receive a hook only when its nib is in the uppermost position, means for agitating the hooks within said hopper to permit the same to enter said outlets, a chute, means associated with said hopper and said chute to permit the hooks disposed within said outlets in one of two predetermined positions to enter said chute, means for retaining within said outlets those hooks which are in the other of said predetermined positions during the movement of said outlets past the discharging position, means for rendering said retaining means ineffective at a predetermined point in the rotative movement-of said- 7 sage of a hook therethrough with its nib in the uppermost position, means for intermittently rotating said hopper, means for releasably retaining within said outlets those hooks whose head portions are inwardly disposed and means effective when the hopper is at .rest to clear the outlets of obstructions.

7. A mechanism for feeding garment hooks having a shank andan overlying nib portion, for fastening the same to a support, embodying a hopper having peripheral openings formed to permit of the passage of hooks J therethrough when the'nibs thereof are upwardly disposed,-means effective for retaining within said openings those hooks which are not in apredeterminedposition for eject- ,ment from said openings,a c hute and means cooperating with said chute and said hopper I to permit the hooks freely supported within said openings to pass to said chute.

8. A mechanism for feeding irregularly formed articles, embodying a hopper having peripheral outlets formed to receivesuch articles in two predetermined positions,-means for intermittently rotating said hopper, a chute adapted to receive the articles from the to form a guideway "fabric, comprisin a such articles are hopper when in a predetermined position, and spring actuated means associated with said hopper for releasably retaining within said outlets those articles which are disposed therein in one of said two predetermined positions. 1 L

9. A mechanism for feeding articles of irregular formation to a receiving medium, ineluding a hopper having peripheral outlets conformed to receive such articles in a predetermined position, means for intermittently rotating said hopper, a chute adapted to receive articles from said hopper when such articles are disposed in the aforesaid predetermined position, spring supported means carried by said hopper and adapted to engage articles within said outlets, when disposed in positions other than their predetermined position, means for rendering said spring supported means effective as article retainers during a part of the rotative movement of said hopper and means functioning in synchronism with said hopper driving means adapted to enter said outlets, when the hopper is at rest, to clear the same of obstructions.

10. A hopper for a feeding mechanism for delivering garment hooks to a mechanism for fastening the same upon fabric, provided with equi-distantly spaced peripheral outlets for the hooks contained therein, each of said outlets having spaced surfaces eo-operating having a major and a minor transverse dimension, said guideway being adapted to receive a hook only when its nib portion is locatable within the minor dimension thereof, means cooperatively associ-' ated with said hopper for permitting the. egress from said outlets of those hooks which have entered the guideways head foremost and means functioning to retain within said outlets the hooks disposed therein in the re- .verse position.

11. A mechanism for I feeding garment hooks to a machine for fastening the same on an annular hopper, means for intermittent y rotating said hopper, means for delivering hooks to said hopper, equi-distantly spaced peripheral outlets for the hooks contained within said hopper, each of said outlets having spaced surfaces cooperatlng to form-a guideway having a ma or and a minor transverse dimension, adapted toreceive, a hook only when its nib portion is,

entered the guideways head foremost, spring supported plungers located in the wall of said,

hopper, hook engaging elements yieldably connected to said plungers, said elements being adapted to enter said outlets, fixed means formed to engage said plungers during the rotative movement of said hopper to depress the same in opposition to their springs, whereby said elements will be pressed into yielding engagement with the hooks in said outlets which have entered the guideway shank foremost, means for effecting the release of the plunger-element retained hooks jat a predetermined point in the rotative movement of said hopper and a reciprocable member functioning in synchronism with the hopper driving means adapted to enter said outletsin sequence to clear the same of obstructions.

12. A mechanism for feeding garment hooks to a'machme for fastening the same on' flexible support, comprising a hook receiving and carrying devlce provided with spaced peripheraloutlets formed to receive hooks 1n either of two predetermined positions, a delivery device associated with said hook rebring the peripheral outlets thereof into hook-discharging association with said delivery device.

MICHAEL J. MAeUTH.

device to sequentially 

